When working in the field of fiber optics, operators often establish connections between non-connectorized ends of optical fibers or fiber ribbons. This is generally referred to as splicing, and it may involve creating temporary or permanent joints between two fibers.
In certain instances, the two fibers are precisely aligned and then fused together using localized intense heat often times created with an electric arc. This is referred to as fusion splicing and is widely employed to create high performance permanent joints between two optical fibers. However, fusion splicer apparatuses are somewhat bulky, expensive and relatively fragile.
Alternatively, the two fibers may simply abut one another in an alignment fixture often referred to as a mechanical splice. The alignment fixture may be an alignment tube or V-groove which receives two ends of separate fibers on either side and has the means of physically securing the fibers. In other instances, the alignment device may be a fiber optic connector with a stub fiber embedded therein made to be connectorized to a field fiber. In this case the field fiber can be terminated utilizing a mechanical splice to the stub fiber inside the connector.